Thieves and barbers…read more The Brooks Free Library opened in 1881 and was part of a block of buildings funded by Henry C. Brooks. The library was just one of many rooms in the block of buildings that also included dress makers, attorneys, dry goods, apartments and even a barber. The library was small back then but kept growing and eventually assimilated the entire block. It kept growing and sucked in some surrounding buildings too. The library today is pleasantly bizarre and looks like it was designed by some mad scientist. Just sort of rambles on in all directions but the incongruity just adds to it's uniqueness and coolness. Inside it has all the stuff a library should have, including a great genealogy and local history room, but it just might take longer to find one particular thing until you get use to the place. Lots of cool architecture and art works all over the place. A whole bunch of statues by the 19th century artist, John Rogers are scattered around. At one time there were more but in 1976 some thieving jackals broke into the library and stole some. In spite of an investigation by the FBI the unique statues were never seen again. The library has friendly and helpful librarians and a feel of someone's old and elegant home. A very cool place to sit and relax, read a book, do some research or just take in all the weird coolness and history.

This is a wonderful town library full of a diverse book selection and helpful and happy staff…read more Thank you Harwich!!!

Love the Dennis Public Library! They have so much to look at and see! They offer events and are…read morevery organized. If they don't have it - you can order it and they work through the CLAMs system.

Awesome small town library with study areas and all the necessities you'd need! Stopped by this…read morelibrary while in town and was throughly impressed with what it had to offer. The library is "newer" compared to some of the others in the surrounding towns and has ample study space, many computers, and a pretty decent collection of books and movies!

Sarah and Mary…read more Way back in about 1850 two young girls named Sarah and Mary decided that their little town of Brewster needed a library and instead of just whining and complaining they did something about it. They got together some other girls and started working various odd jobs to get money together for the library. The girls bought, borrowed and got people to donate books and in the early part of 1853 "The Girls' Library" was opened in a bookcase of a local house. A membership fee of one dollar was charged to take books out and the little library thrived and grew. Finally in 1868 a real library was built and an addition was quickly added in 1877 to accommodate the growing collection of books. In 1879 the name was officially changed to "The Brewster Ladies' Library". In spite of the name members of the opposite sex were also allowed in the library. Other additions were added in 1977 and 1997 and were carefully planned to be in the same cool colors and style of the original. The library today is stunning, beautiful, fascinating and very, very cool. Just so many great old photos and things to look at. It's easy to lose track of time in a place like this. A very nice and knowledgeable volunteer gave us a wonderful tour of the library and filled us with more facts, figures and history that I could possibly remember. An amazing library that has grown a whole lot over the decades but in a way hasn't changed one bit. An absolutely wonderful testimony to a dream that two young girls named Sarah and Mary had so many, many years ago.

I love this library! Never in my life did I think those words would ever leave my mouth! The kids…read moresection in particular is unstoppable. I feel like the kids have more books than the rest of the library itself! I bring my niece here every Thursday and literally spend 2-3 hrs putzing around. They always have a table set up with some sort of craft du jour for the tykes and tons of toys, puzzles, games, etc to keep them buzzing for hours. Love it!! The staff are super friendly and smiley. No crotchety old women here. Well I mean older women...yes, crotchety...no. And a major plus, the kids part is separate from the rest of the library, sooo...no one shushing the kids or giving us adults the hairy eyeball! Again, love it!! The rest of the library is pretty standard. Computer room, young adult area, massive amounts of adult lit., reading area, etc. It's worth the trip for sure. Definitely the coolest library in the area. Did I really just say that?! Oh and disregard the "Ladies" part, not sure where the name came from. Men are more than welcome!

A great, clean, very well organized and marked Library!…read more The main areas on the ground floor include a periodicals & magazine area, children's section and non-fiction/reference books as well as DVDs and CDs. I didn't see Blu-Ray discs but I didn't look too closely. The lower level has his and hers restrooms (sorry, no zhi & zher spaces), private space and a huge selection of fiction books. The library is very well lit, which makes a surprising difference! I think that most libraries are darker than they should be but I never really noticed it until I saw this incredibly well lit one. They also have a very clear map of the full library on the wall fight when you walk in and also the clearest/cleanest markings for their Dewey Decimal non-fiction section. Overall a great library!

Comfortable, light and welcoming. Be sure to check the hours, as they are not open 7 days/week, at…read moreleast not in the off-season.

For a small resort island, I love that they their own public library and it's larger than you'd…read moreexpect. It doubles as a cultural center and a mini museum. Located right in the middle of everything in the downtown district, this is a site not to be missed! Beautiful exterior architecture and a grand staircase. Two floors, with a range of books, a corner for free books for the taking, restrooms in the lower level, and friendly staff. They have events year round including lectures and special exhibits. I wish I had more time to explore!

The Atheneum is a must visit. It's great for kids and adults…read more First, wander around the outside grounds. Check online for any programming, too; we stumbled upon a really great outdoor show for young kids with music and dancing - very memorable and fun. We got our kid's first library card here, even as a non-local. The kid book section is right in front with a great selection. There's also a kid's bathroom. There are extra bathrooms for adults in the basement, but they took forever.

Great library! On Sundays they print out the NY Times Sunday Crossword and the Boston Globe…read morecrossword. I went to the mezzanine and sat in a chair looking out the window and did them. The views from the mezzanine are awesome. They also have a ship replica on view. Tip: if you need to go to the bathroom when visiting PTown, this is where to go.

We bought a Christmas ornament in one of the little artist shacks near the marina and one of the…read moreartists told us to go and check out the library in town. We took his advice and walked there. He was right. It was absolutely stunning. There is a huge sailboat inside the library covering almost all of the inside, surrounded by books. It is absolutely beautiful.

A gingerbread library…read more This wonderful library in a sort of Gingerbread American Gothic style was built about 1856. But nobody is absolutely sure where it came from. Most people think that it was brought here from somewhere else. A campground in Yarmouth perhaps or maybe even Martha's Vineyard. Others think that is was built on site by John Rose, the first owner of the diminutive house. Where ever it came from the house was put to a lot of different uses. Over the decades It was a cobbler shop, a poetess home, a place for prayer meetings. It didn't become a library until 1918. It was so small that the books were piled everywhere and the patrons had to dig around to find what they were looking for. The library didn't even have electricity until the 1950s. A "huge" addition was constructed in the early 1960s but it still is a small library by any standards. A wonderfully unique and lovely library that looks like it was plucked right out of the past.

My favorite library. Great librarian, great little spot!! It's quiet and chill.read more

I found the Wellfleet public library to be a rather pleasant place. They have great skylights and a…read morefriendly staff. Some nice places to read and it wasn't too crowded when I went. They had an excellent pile of puzzles. Furthermore, they displayed great wall art all around the library by different artists. My favorite was this rug with fishing boats. The Wellfleet Public Library is part of the CLAMS system, which, if you aren't already, I highly recommend you join!

A library with a…read more porch Wellfleet is a pleasant little town on Cape Cod. It's typical of many Cape Cod towns with beautiful beaches, great dunes, open ocean and a unique charm. So it's quite appropriate that the town has a beautiful and unique library. The library is actually quite new and the books weren't moved into the building until 1989. Before that the official Wellfleet Library took a circuitous route that took them into several different locations around town. Seemed the library was always jumping around. The first library started in 1893 when the books were just sort of piled in the back of the First Congregational Church. Over the years the library took up residence in a bank, dry good stores, town hall and finally an old curtain factory. The poor books certainly had to move around a lot over the years but finally have found a permanent home. The present library is a wonderful place. The first thing that catches the eye is the huge porch. A great place to sit outside and read, talk to friends or just relax. The inside has over 10,000 square feet and separates into several rooms which makes it a convenient place to hold meetings, events and displays. Of course the library has all the usually amenities of a modern library and helpful and extremely pleasant and friendly librarians but it's the cool, rustic and unique charm and great porch that makes this library special. It took a century to find it's permanent home but I suspect that the library is going to be in this spot for a long, long time.

Enriching lives and…read moreeducating children Enriching lives and educating children is one what biography states the purpose of the Eastham Library is. Definitely a pretty accurate description, this is a library that does a lot of things and manages to look really nice doing it. The first library in Eastham was found back in 1878 and like most libraries back then the books were just stuck in the back of the general store. By 1897 the present building was constructed and has served ever since. The present Eastham Library is a small but quaint looking building that looks like it belongs on Cape Cod and blends in very well with it's surroundings. It even has a little model of the real library in the front that would make a nice doghouse for one of the local curs. The library is actually much larger than it seems from the outside and holds 45,000 items. Besides the usually books. magazines, videos, music, computers and puzzles the library also has some great articles on local history, some artifacts and displays and a great genealogy department. A very friendly and accommodating place that attracts, enriches, educates and welcomes visitors from all of New England.

My sanctuary! The kids room is absolutely adorable and the free wifi is so necessary! When I need a…read morebreak from the beach (I know, tough life!) this is where I go for a quick visit, except Mondays, it's not open! Music, DVD, books - all neatly displayed!